{The current metro area population of Austin in 2023 is 2,228,000, a 2.39% increase from 2022}
And
{ Austin-Roundrock, TX, Metropolitan Area Data Tables
Employees on nonfarm payrolls, Austin-Round Rock metropolitan area, seasonally adjusted (numbers in thousands)
Sep
2023(P)
1,337.5 }
Or, conservatively, 3.75% of jobs in Austin are associated with Tesla.
Add to that, the Galveston lithium battery plant, SpaceX near Brownsville jobs.
Musk companies are an economic positive in the Texas “Right to Work” environment.
GigaTX is on the SE side of Austin, opposite the fast growth N, NW, and W “desirable, Hill Country” areas. GigaTX is helping Austin to spread its footprint to the S and E.
Math on such claims are always very fuzzy but if one goes by the opening date of that plant, April 2022, through April of this year, just 51,000 TOTAL new jobs have been created in Austin:
So Musk is claiming responsibility for over 100% of the job growth in Austin? Sure, Austin has likely created a few more jobs since April this year but claiming 60,000 of the jobs in Austin are due to Tesla when only 51k were created in the first year since it opened strains credulity.
Edit: And here is the YTD data:
Just 30,000 new jobs from Aug 22 through Aug 23. 53,000 YTD. Basically, Musk is claiming credit for just about every single job created in Austin for the last 18 months.
Of course the 5 additional jobs per payroll is just some estimate someone did in some study. But I do think you’d have to go back prior to the plant opening date. Most of the construction jobs probably ended, but local entrepreneurs surely began building housing, expanded shopping centers and food service before the plant ribbon cutting.
